Chapter 113: Not Fair
Alvin did find a way to get some rest in the end. In fact, he did pretty much the same as the other Maguses. Suppressing his Magic Energy that long made it tiresome, so Alvin would release his Magic Energy and let it circulate naturally. When the Star Rays came after him, he would immediately suppress again and change to another position.
Because the Star Rays went after him in that previous location, the other areas nearby would have fewer of them for a short time. He then released his Magic Energy again and rested until the Star Rays appeared once more. After that, he repeated the same process.
Linfel watched that and smiled. 'He can do it on his own. He just needs to let go of his complex of inferiority.'
After twenty Clicks of time were gone, the number of deaths had decreased massively. Not just because there were few Maguses and Familiars. That was indeed part of the reason but not the main point. The real reason was that the Maguses and Familiar who had survived until now, had finally understood how to Control their Magic Energy and suppress it.
Thanks to that, few were being caught by the Star Rays, and as time passed, even fewer got caught. When the test reached the 30 Clicks times, it was already not a test of survival anymore. It all became a test of who could score more points. Top 7000, that's what mattered. As for the number of Maguises and Familiars, there were slightly over 150000 remaining.
But then, the Maguses and Familiars found a problem. Sure, there were millions of Star Rays, and all of them had tokens... at the start. By now, most of the tokens were caught by the participants. The Maguses and Familiars used their experience to finally attract the Star Rays, but more often than not, they had already lost the tokens on their backs.
That made it extremely difficult for anyone below the top 20000 to make their way into the top 7000, let alone those below. There were simply not enough tokens for everyone who was still competing.
Linfel and Alvin, fortunately, didn't have such an issue. They could already suppress and Control their Magic Energy from the start. Thanks to that, they bathed in Tokens, although Linfel had many more. At the moment, Linfel was ranked 78th on the scoreboard. As for Alvin, he was in the 514th position.
Both Linfel and Alvin were, by far, the Level Three Magus and Familiar with most points, especially Linfel.
Truth be told, Linfel could have won. He can fly like the Level Five Maguses and Familiars, so he could have simply jumped in the middle of the mobs of Star Rays and taken the tokens nonstop. Too bad he wasn't really viewing for the first place. 78 was already an accomplishment good enough for him.
Alvin returned to Linfel's side. He kept looking for more tokens, but there were none, so he decided to stop. "Well, it seems like we can stay put until the end of the test, and we will easily make it into the top 7000 or something. I hardly doubt either of us will drop below the top 1000 even if we don't get a single extra token anymore."
Linfel agreed with Alvin about that. "Nonetheless, it was a good training for you. You can go and try to get more if you feel like it, but since you already understood the main point of this test and got used to it, there isn't really a need anymore. Just do as you like."
Alvin sighed in relief. He was worried Linfel would have sent him to keep looking for Star Rays until the very last second. But then again, Linfel never gave Alvin meaningless training, and continuing with this test wouldn't add much to Alvin's abilities.
Alvin sat down, still suppressing his Magic Energy so the Star Rays would ignore him. He opened his MCOM and took a look at the ranking. "Oh! Milia and Nori are doing pretty good too."
Linfel floated higher and looked in the distance. There, he could see Milia and Nori still working together to catch more Star Rays with the tokens. It's just that most of the Star Rays had nothing. "Milia and Nori seem fine. Their Magic Energy Control improved quite a bit. They will need several months to catch up to what you are doing now, but they are definitely on the right path."
Linfel returned to the surface of the asteroid and looked into Milia's Rank. "As expected of someone with real talent. Even without my help, she is still inside the top 3000. She isn't at risk of falling out of the top 7000 anymore either."
Alvin looked at the time and thought about the Star Rays that had no more tokens. "What about all the rest of the Maguses and Familiars that learned the tricks of this test too late? Without more tokens, they can't catch up anymore. Do you think the Ventis Sect will add some rules towards the end? Like... kill a magus or a Familiar, and you gain their points?"
"I can't guarantee it, but I don't think they will change this test towards the end," Linfel commented.
"Really?!" Alvin was obviously happy to hear that. "Why?"
"So what if there aren't any tokens anymore?" Linfel asked back. "If you took too long to get used to this test, then that's your problem. That's how they have been operating so far. Those who learned fast are exactly the ones the Ventis Sect is looking for. They will not add that rule you mentioned. Otherwise, they might be giving a chance to Maguses and Familiars who are slower at learning.
I don't think they will risk it. Last but not least, if the Ventis Sect truly wants to put the Maguses and Familiars against each other, they will do it in another test, not this one. This test is all about learning how to control your Magic Energy."
"That's quite unfair... Even if they learned slower, they did manage to do it," Alvin sighed in response. "Some people just aren't as talented as Milia. As for me, if I didn't meet you, I wouldn't even be considered to be average. I feel quite bad for them."
Linfel could understand it. "Indeed. However, life isn't fair, and the Ventis Sect even less so. Just wait for the time to be over."
Time continued to pass, and when there was only one Click remaining, Milia joined Alvin and Linfel in their respite. She simply couldn't find any Star Rays with tokens anymore. Pretty much the only participants looking for tokens were those near the 7000 position. There were those afraid of falling below and those doing their best to try to barely make their way in.
Finally, 40 Clicks went by, and Gravity Rays shot from the many Spaceships outside the test range. All the survivors were quickly brought out of the asteroid. The fourth test was over.
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